George Russell: Mercedes driver says Kimi Antonelli deserves to be ahead in F1 title fight and 'I need to be better'

George Russell has admitted he needs to be better if he is going to stay in title contention this season.

Having begun the season as the clear title favourite, Russell has been stunned by the pace of his teenage Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli and trails the Italian by 25 points at the top of the standings after nine rounds.

While Russell has suffered several moments of major misfortune, Antonelli has also had bad luck in recent weeks, retiring due to an engine failure in Barcelona and then dropping from a potential victory to outside of the points in Sunday's British Grand Prix after another technical issue.

• F1 2026 standings | F1 2026 Calendar | F1 Gossip Column
• Download the Sky Sports app for expert analysis, best video & more📱
• Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺

Despite lacking pace throughout the weekend, Russell profited from mishaps and errors from rivals to finish second at Silverstone, gaining 18 points on Antonelli.

Russell said: "The feeling (of the car) was good, but the lap times were slow. And as I said, there were things outside of my control that contributed a lot towards that, and things in my control.

"I'm still struggling to understand this car. I probably still leave this weekend, albeit extremely grateful to stand on the podium, I leave less satisfied than Canada, when I broke down from the lead.

"And if I want to fight for the championship, the performances need to be better. I need to be better. I need to be working better with my team. We need to be maximising everything."

Mercedes' technical issues have allowed Lewis Hamilton to remain in striking distance, with the seven-time world champion just seven points behind Russell in the drivers' standings after finishing third at Silverstone.

Russell added: "We've got a close fight now with Ferrari, so it's not just Kimi and I, Lewis is still very close. It needs to be improved."

A first win of the season for Hamilton's team-mate Charles Leclerc also helped Ferrari close their deficit to Mercedes at the top of the Constructors' Championship to 78 points, but Russell insisted his focus is on himself rather than the threat posed by the Italian team.

"I'm not even thinking about it, to be honest, because I've got my own things I need to deal with and improve upon on my own side," he said.

"I left Monaco three races ago 68 points behind and I leave here 25 points behind. So yeah, I would take it, but it won't continue like that forever unless the results, the performance, gets better."

'Antonelli deserves to be ahead of me'

Russell also admitted that Antonelli has earned his championship lead by doing "a better job" so far this season.

Earlier in the year, Russell repeatedly suggested that his points deficit to Antonelli was down to luck, but the Italian's greater pace in recent weeks appears to have altered the Brit's perception.

The Mercedes pair have had a race-ending engine failure each, while Russell was hampered by a technical issue in Chinese Grand Prix qualifying and also lost points in Monaco due to a controversial penalty for pit-lane speeding.

Antonelli had enjoyed a largely clean campaign until Barcelona, when his engine failed moments after he had passed Russell for second. Then, on Sunday, he appeared on course to chase down Leclerc for victory when a wheel-guard on his car broke.

Asked whether he thought Antonelli's recent misfortune had balanced out luck between the pair, Russell said: "Whether the luck has balanced out or not, I'm not sure.

"However, based on my performances and based on his performances over the course of these nine races, I think a 25-point gap is in his favour is probably correct.

"He has done a better job than me this year to this point, so he deserves to be ahead of me.

"Whether it should be 25 points, whether it should be 10 points, whether it should be 35 points is a debate, but in that ballpark between… I obviously lost 15 points as well in Monaco with the drive-through penalty. I think anywhere from 10 to 30 points behind is probably about fair."

Formula 1's summer run continues with the Belgian Grand Prix at legendary Spa-Francorchamps on July 17-19, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime

(c) Sky Sports 2026: George Russell: Mercedes driver says Kimi Antonelli deserves to be ahead in F1 title fight and 'I need to be better'